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June 11 Premarket Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

U.S. stock futures fall after the World Bank trims its global growth forecast; the EU is investigating the tax affairs of Apple and Starbucks; Bank of America and the Justice Department reach an impasse in negotiations over a multibillion-dollar settlement deal, a report says.

1. -- U.S. stock futures were lower and European stocks fell after the World Bank trimmed its global growth forecast.

The World Bank cut its 2014 growth forecast to 2.8% from 3.2%, citing a bitter American winter and the political crisis in Ukraine.

Asian stocks finished the session mixed.

2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. on Wednesday includes the Treasury budget at 2 p.m. EDT.

3. -- U.S. stocks on Tuesday closed mixed. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq turned green in the final minutes of trading, the S&P 500 remained in the red, somewhat deflated from record highs set the day before.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 1,950.79. The Dow tiptoed 0.02% higher to 16,945.92, while the Nasdaq added 0.04% to close at 4,338.

4. -- The European Union Commission's antitrust regulator is investigating deals that Apple (AAPL), Starbucks (SBUX) and Fiat struck with tax authorities in several European countries to see whether they amount to unfair state aid, The Associated Press reported.

The multinationals have agreements with tax authorities in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as part of their strategy to minimize the taxes they pay. The EU antitrust commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said Wednesday that while such agreements are permissible in theory, they would be improper if they give the companies involved an advantage over competitors.

The companies named have been frequent targets of criticism for paying low taxes in some places they operate.

5. -- Bank of America (BAC) and the Justice Department have reached an impasse in negotiations over a multibillion-dollar settlement deal, The New York Times reported.